Page 115 of The Risk Taker

He rolls his eyes but starts skating forward anyway, moving with that same clean, practiced ease he always has. Within seconds, he’s beside me, his shoulder brushing mine.

I bump him with my hip. “You always look so serious on the ice.”

“Someone has to take it seriously,” he mutters, though I catch the flicker of a smile. “You’re like a golden retriever on skates.”

“Thank you,” I say proudly. “I take that as the highest compliment.”

He shakes his head, but he’s smiling, and that little thing in my chest—the one that started sometime between Christmas Eve and New Year’s and… fuck… probably longer than that—kicks up a notch.

I push off again, skating ahead, letting the cold sting my cheeks. “Try to keep up, Hayes.”

He curses under his breath but follows me, matching my pace. We circle each other and he cuts tighter, faster, closer, until we’re practically shoulder to shoulder, laughing every time one of us bumps the other. It’s not even about the skating anymore. It’s about how close we can get before someone breaks.

Eventually I slow down, coasting to a stop in the middle of the lake. My breath fogs the air and Nathan glides up next to me.

I nod toward him. “You still got it.”

“Of course I do,” he mutters, catching his breath. “I’m not ninety.”

“Could’ve fooled me with that hip stretch routine you do every practice.”

He shoots me a look, but it doesn’t take long before he breathes out a scoff and shakes his head. I love his smile. Love it so much. Love how happy I can make him. His gaze drifts to the trees and I watch as his shoulders drop in relief. It’s like, for thefirst time, he isn’t thinking about all of the expectations sitting on his shoulders or what he has to do next. He’s just thinking of right now. Enjoying himself, letting himself take a breather, and having fun.

And that’s all I wanted.

I push off again, skating ahead of him, carving wide arcs into the lake. He laughs, then chases after me, picking up speed. We loop around each other, the snow kicking up under our blades.

I cut close, brushing his side, and he bumps me back, a warning in his grin.

“Careful,” he says. “I’ll put you on your ass.”

“You wouldn’t dare. I’m your ride home.”

“I’d drag your unconscious body back to the car.”

“Romantic,” I shoot back.

He doesn’t reply, but he smiles and I skate closer until our gloves brush together. He doesn’t move away, so I take his hand in mine and tug him toward me. “Skate with me.”

His eyes flick down, then up, meeting mine. He hesitates, glancing around like he’s expecting someone to appear out of nowhere. The lake is silent except for the creak of the ice under us.

“There’s no one here,” I tell him, tugging gently on his hand. “Come on, Hayes. Skate with me.”

For a second, he just looks at me, then he exhales and gives in.

His hand stays in mine as we skate slowly over the ice. It’s easy, being here with him like this. No eyes on us. No need to hide from anyone. Just us, out in the open.

I always assumed falling in love would come with a huge realization. A slamming sensation. Instead, it crept in quietly, starting somewhere around the first kiss, settling deeper each time without me noticing.

I feel it every time I catch him looking at me. Every time the corner of his mouth lifts when he smiles. Every time I kiss him and my body relaxes instead of tightening, like this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Nathan glances over at me when he catches me watching him, the corners of his mouth lifting into a warm smile. His breath fogs in small white puffs when he laughs, and I know without a doubt I love this man.

It’s as natural as breathing.

I don’t know how he feels, or what the hell I’m going to do about it, but every part of me aches for him.

When we finally slow to a stop near the edge, I turn toward him, my breath catching a little in my throat. “Thank you again,” I say quietly. “For inviting me to your house this Christmas.”